


Try Not To Sing, Now

by WorkInProgress84



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Crack, M/M, What do I tag this story?, light frottage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:48:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25000084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorkInProgress84/pseuds/WorkInProgress84
Summary: Morgana convinces Arthur to try something new that is not sports-related, and he ends up doing a Try Not To Sing Challenge for a YouTube channel with a guy who's too cute (and a bit rude, quite frankly) to be real.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 103





	Try Not To Sing, Now

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry, this one is very long and there's barely any hanky-panky going on. I had a lot of fun writing it, though!  
> I obviously own none of the songs mentioned in this work of fiction.

"Morgana, I don't want to be a clown on the internet. I don't think I'm quite personable enough to be entertaining anyway."

Arthur had no idea why he was even fighting this. Morgana was set on his appearance on that dumb internet show (and seriously, didn't college kids have better things to _do_?) and so his opinion mattered very little.

"Don't be stupid, you're very pretty, and it's just as important as being entertaining," she smiled at him, and this might have sounded like a compliment, but Arthur knew better: there was an insult in there somewhere. "Besides, you'll meet someone new. It might do you good, getting out of that little clique of yours."

"It's not a clique, it's a team. A soccer team, which we train for. That's why we spend so much time together."

"Right, right," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "It doesn't mean you shouldn't meet new people. It'll be a change in scenery. Lighten up, Arthur, and let me know how it went!"

And then she was gone, leaving nothing in her wake but a faint cloud of expensive perfume and the address Arthur was supposed to be at in a couple of hours.

***

He got to an unassuming building ten minutes early, distrustful when there was no sign whatsoever on the front. The moment he crossed the threshold and stated why he was here to the bubbly blonde girl who was manning the front desk, though, he was immediately ushered.

She drowned him in friendly chatter as she led him through a maze of hallways that all looked the same, until she opened a door on his right with a flourish that almost caused him to run into her.

"Okay, so today you'll be paired with Merlin, who's already done a couple of these videos with us. He's a nice guy, don't worry," she said with a reassuring smile.

"I'm not worried," he said with a haughty scoff.

"Okay," she said, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. Was this girl in cahoots with Morgana? Everything was possible, knowing Morgana.

Arthur wasn't worried per se. He was just… rightfully apprehensive.

The room was empty save for the equipment he supposed was needed to film an internet video, and a desk with a laptop on it and two chairs. 

He was debating what to do when the door opened behind him and the most ridiculous pair of ears he'd ever seen appeared.

"Are you Arthur?" the ears asked. The ears also had cheekbones, and lips, and blue eyes.

"Yes."

"Great." The ears also had a smile. And _dimples_. "I'm Merlin. Should we get settled? I saw Freya on the way in and she'll be right here."

Whoever Freya was, he didn't say.

"Sure."

Arthur followed Merlin, who looked supremely at ease here, and sat down in the chair next to his. These chairs were very, very close. It made sense, considering the laptop was fairly small - Arthur waggered all the money had gone into the filming equipment.

He could feel Merlin's arm against his sleeve. He hadn't had enough time to really look at him when he'd entered, because it had been impossible to look away from his face, but he seemed to be on the lanky side, his frame sort of hidden by the large clothes he was wearing.

Before he could open his mouth to say… something to him, anything to break the awkward silence that seemed to have descended upon them, the door opened again.

"Heya guys, I'm Freya and I'll be filming today."

The mousy brunette smiled at them professionally, her smile growing more genuine when she looked at Merlin. 

"Come on, Frey, tell us what we're doing today!"

Freya laughed. "Give me a second to finish setting up, at least. Have you two introduced yourselves?"

"He's Arthur, I'm Merlin, as usual."

"You're like a kid in a candy store," Freya shook her head fondly.

"Of course I am!" He suddenly turned towards Arthur, visibly hyped. "Have you done this before?" 

"Can't say I have. My sister signed me up, actually."

"Ah. I should have known."

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Arthur bristled, not liking the superior smirk on Merlin's (admittedly plush) lips.

"Nothing!" Merlin went on, apparently not impressed by Arthur's sneer. "Just- You'd be more enthusiastic otherwise. But you've seen the videos, right?"

"I haven't, as a matter of fact," he bit out. "I don't spend much time on the internet."

"Your life sounds dreadful."

"Excuse me?"

"Merlin!" Freya intervened. "Play nice."

"I was only expressing an opinion."

"That no one asked you for, so do shut up," Arthur commanded, admittedly a tad defensive.

Merlin's (blue, blue) eyes widened. "Someone's touchy."

"Okay! I'm ready!" Freya shouted, nipping Arthur's next acerbic remark in the bud. "I'm going to start the camera, so Arthur, you might want to tone down the scowling, if it's at all possible." Merlin snickered so Freya turned to him. "Merlin, you turn down the sass." Arthur snickered just in case it would piss Merlin off.

"Do you have to be such a prat about this?" Merlin muttered quietly so Freya wouldn't hear. "I was joking."

"Humor's obviously not your strong suit, Merlin."

"Oh, come on, don't be like that. Lighten up a little."

Arthur didn't reply and pointedly ignored Merlin. The echo of Morgana's advice from earlier churned inside his head, though. Maybe he could try and enjoy this; after all, it wasn't like he'd have to see Merlin again.

"Okay, you're on in three, two, one- Today I welcome Merlin and Arthur, and you guys are going to do a Try Not To Sing challenge!"

"Oh my God, _yes_! Finally!" Merlin shouted to the ceiling.

"Let me remind you what the rules are: you can't sing, obviously, but you can't lipsynch either, or bop your head, or snap, or tap your fingers, or dance in any way."

Morgana had explained it was one of the concepts he might be subjected to, and he'd found it pretty challenging. Luckily for him, his competitive streak was a mile wide and he had every intention of winning this thing.

"My body is ready. Is your body ready, Arthur?"

"You're going down, man; chances are I won't even know these songs."

Freya snorted. "I guarantee you will. Alright, first song."

Merlin aww'ed as the first notes for A Whole New World rang out. Arthur pursed his lips. Yeah, okay, he knew that one. He knew it by heart, actually. Memories of watching Aladdin again and again with Morgana when they were children prevented Arthur from paying too much attention to the song, and he actually jumped from his chair a little when Merlin all but wailed like a banshee.

" _A whole new wooooorld!_ Sorry, not sorry, this is too good."

"Jesus Christ, man, what's your problem?" Arthur asked, clutching at his breast to make sure his heart stayed inside his chest. Merlin looked at him with an idiotic (endearing) smile on his face.

"So, that's strike one for Merlin," Freya cut in. "Let's see if Arthur is still as tight-lipped with this one."

There was no mistaking these opening chords and Arthur actually had to close his eyes against the sight of Paul McCartney at the piano and bite his lip not to give in to the urge to sing along as the first words rang out. He groaned; "challenging" was right.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw Merlin staring at him out of the corner of his eye. He turned to him, a biting comment on the tip of his tongue, but it never made it past his lips: Merlin's mouth hung open a little, supremely inviting, as he gazed at Arthur, his eyes ablaze.

"What?" he asked as Hey Jude played on in the background.

"N-Nothing," Merlin said, seeming to come out of a trance to look back at the screen.

Neither of them sang along to I Will Survive either, too busy sneaking glances at each other. Arthur was fairly certain Merlin was sitting closer to him than at the beginning.

"You guys are very good," Freya remarked when the excerpt ended, sounding a bit suspicious. "Especially you, Merlin, you're usually bouncing all over the place no matter what the challenge is."

Merlin chuckled, a bit uneasy. "Ha, well, I'm very… focused, today," he said with a peek at Arthur's face and a grin.

Arthur felt a blush climb up his neck and invade his face. Every hair on his body stood up, his body keenly aware of every point of contact with Merlin's. He casually repositioned his arm on the desk, seeking more warmth.

"Okay, next one," Freya announced.

Arthur reluctantly ripped his eyes from Merlin's… everything, really, and tried to focus on the video on the screen.

"I think I've heard this song," he frowned.

"You," Merlin choked indignantly, "you _think_ you've heard this song?"

"Yeah, I mean it was pretty big, wasn't it?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He was almost positive he'd heard Morgana sing that one before.

"Well, yeah, that's why I'm surprised you're not actually singing along." Merlin shook his head then gripped Arthur's hand and launched into the chorus with the singer. "Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my number, so call me maybe!"

"Erm, yeah. I'm an outdoors kind of guy. My team and I don't get to listen to the radio a lot when we practice."

"I mean, to each their own," Merlin added hastily. "I am _not_ going to complain that you work out, it would be… very stupid of me," he added with an appreciative sweep of his eyes down Arthur's body.

Arthur's skin almost literally caught fire, simmering like it couldn't stand to be away from Merlin a minute longer. He clamped down on the need.

"So," Freya coughed, "Arthur, you're in the lead with no strikes. Merlin, you've already sung twice. Next one."

As far as Arthur was concerned, that one was also instantly recognizable and catapulted him back to his childhood. Merlin ooh'ed next to him, back in the game as well.

"I can tell you want to sing," he teased. "Your jaw's clenched so tight you'll be grinding your teeth to dust. You should let it out, Arthur."

"Shut up."

"Come on, you know you want to," he sing-songed. The cheating bastard.

"Arthur?" Freya quipped, a laugh in her voice.

"Yes?" 

"You're tapping your finger," she pointed out. He looked down: dammit, so he was. "That means you've already lost this round and you can sing along."

" _Ghostbusters_!" he erupted along with Ray Parker Jr. Merlin burst out laughing and Arthur didn't care: giving in felt amazing. "Oh God, that feels so good. _I ain't afraid of no ghost_."

Merlin was lost to the world as he giggled into his arms, slumped over the desk. Arthur couldn't say he would have minded seeing Merlin all sprawled out on that desk doing very different things.

"I have to say," he panted, turning his face so Arthur could see his mischievous grin, "it's very satisfying seeing you let loose like this."

"Oh Merlin," Arthur murmured, hoping the mic wouldn't pick it up, "you have not seen me let loose yet."

Merlin's grin slipped off his face to be replaced with a darker look. "Is that a promise?"

"Boys!" Freya shouted, startling them both. She was beet red. "Can we move onto the next song?"

Arthur took a deep breath in when the first disco notes for Stayin Alive came out of the speakers. 

"Are you sure this isn't Try Not To Sing, Movie Edition?" Merlin asked.

"It does seem like people find it really hard not to sing along to movie soundtracks. Can you blame them?" Freya shot back.

"Of course not; I mean, look at Arthur, he looks like someone's torturing him."

"It's called restraint, _Merlin_ ," Arthur replied, the words dripping with sarcasm. "It's the reason why I'm winning this thing."

"Oh, are you?" Merlin drawled. "I wonder who's tapping their foot to the beat, then, because it's not me."

Arthur closed his eyes, realizing Merlin was right. "You distracted me," he grunted.

"Oh, you find me distracting?" Merlin asked in a flutter of (really long) eyelashes, the picture of innocence. The sight tickled down Arthur's spine.

"That's twice you've cheated, now."

"All's fair," Merlin winked before leaning into Arthur's personal space to whisper in his ear, electrifying him. "You can have your revenge after we're finished here, if you'd like."

"Last one, then!" Freya interrupted loudly. "You have two strikes each so whoever wins this round wins the game."

The sense of competition had been drilled into Arthur from a very early age. Perhaps because of that, he was what some called a sore loser. Losing against this cheating, annoyingly attractive quasi stranger, though? It didn't sound like a bad deal, and he was more than eager to start the second round, where he would tap into some of his most definite strengths and prove himself the best man.

Arthur snorted when Bohemian Rhapsody came on: his go-to shower song, how could he have resisted? He felt better in the knowledge that he would have lost anyway. This would be over quick.

He looked over at Merlin to check how he was faring and was surprised to see his eyes on him again, a devious smile playing on his lips that had Arthur frowning a silent question. Suddenly, Merlin cleared his throat and licked his lips, and Arthur understood.

Freddy Mercury never got the chance to shine solo.

" _Mamaaaaaa, just killed a maaaaan_ ," Merlin and Arthur both sang at the top of their lungs.

They were so off-key it was a wonder the windows hadn't shattered, but thankfully they burst into laughter before they could inflict anymore pain on all the dogs on the block - and on Freya, who looked pretty taken aback by their sudden camaraderie.

"Hm, okay, I guess this is a tie, then," she announced. "Congratulations to both of you. Thanks for playing, guys, and we look forward to having you again."

"Can't wait 'til next time!" Merlin said with a cheerful wave to the camera. 

Arthur mustered a small smile. When Freya heaved a great sigh and Merlin slumped back in his chair, Arthur deduced it meant they were done filming for their little game. What it _meant_ , was that round two could begin.

Arthur waited Merlin out as he easily chatted with Freya, Merlin’s lanky form sprawled back in his chair. It gave him all the time in the world to eat up his every movement, from the way his Adam's apple bobbed when he laughed (he would lick it very soon) to the way his long fingers played with the thin silver chain around his neck.

He only stood up to parrot Merlin's "bye, Freya, thanks for having us," and then they were alone.

Merlin cleared his throat. "Should we, um, get going?" 

"I don't think so."

Arthur grabbed the nape of Merlin’s neck and forcefully dragged him into a kiss. Considering the way Merlin plastered himself against him, Arthur surmised he had no objections. He was delightfully responsive, moaning for every new thing Arthur brought to the table: his teeth biting at his lips, his tongue battling his for dominance, his arm snaking around his slim hips to keep him in place.

"Hmm, I've been wanting to do this as soon as I laid eyes on you," Merlin gasped as Arthur nipped down his neck and made good on his selfish promise to lick Merlin's Adam's apple.

"Come here," Arthur groaned, manhandling Merlin until he got the idea and sat on the desk, spreading his legs to accommodate Arthur's body. "Round two starts now."

Merlin seemed very on board with this, slipping one hand under Arthur's shirt to rake his nails all over his back, the other dipping under the waistband of his jeans, low enough to feel the swell of his ass.

Arthur gave as good as he got, licking up Merlin's long neck to nibble on his ear and murmur all the filthy things he had planned for his rival, all while grinding his growing erection in the V of Merlin's legs.

Not to be outdone, Merlin hitched one knee over Arthur's waist, viciously pulling him tighter and causing Arthur's thighs to painfully dig into the desk. Not that he cared much: Merlin was a worthy opponent who made this round a lot more exciting than the first.

"Try not to sing now," Arthur growled as he bit down on the juncture between Merlin's neck and his shoulder.

The sound Merlin made was caught between a laugh and a moan as all his limbs tightened around Arthur, who definitely counted this as a win. He went back to kissing Merlin, stifling all sorts of very pleasant noises. As it turned out, Merlin was quite the singer.

Arthur was bracing himself for a counterattack, Merlin's eager fingers suddenly fighting against his belt, when a series of frantic, deafening knocks rang out, freezing them both in place.

Freya’s hurried, mortified voice stayed on the other side of the door. "There's a camera in the room to make sure nobody steals the equipment. You need to, um, get going. I mean, not like that, I mean get going as in leave, you need to leave. Please. I'll, um, hopefully not see you down there. Bye."

Merlin was trembling with laughter against him, semi-hard, his forehead in the crook of Arthur’s neck. “I think we should relocate for round three,” he offered, gratifyingly breathless.

“Round three?” Arthur pulled back to ask with a raised eyebrow. God, Merlin looked delicious with kiss-swollen lips and glassy eyes. “I take it I won round two.”

“What? Not on your life. I’ll show you what winning feels like, come on.”

Arthur was very careful not to make eye-contact with anyone on their way out of the building.

**Author's Note:**

> Day 22 - On the desk


End file.
